The Most Overlooked Chicago Movie

Jeff Garlin's I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With

A week ago, I wrote a list of the 10 most authentic Chicago movies, which I felt encapsulated what it's like to really live in the city. In response to the list, an aggrieved Jeff Garlin (the native Chicagoan and comedian best known from Curb Your Enthusiasm) tweeted me on New Year's Day:

Garlin went on to say that his films are always overlooked. Honestly, this film wasn't on my radar. I do remember it coming out in 2007, and I was living in Chicago at the time of the filming (I think I even applied to be a crew member). When I researched Chicago films, it didn't pop up in my Google searches and it wasn't even included in Chicago magazine's "Top 40 Movies Filmed in Chicago" list from 2010. Garlin now was the Rodney Dangerfield of Chicago movies.

I was skeptical to watch the film at first — a lot of people wrote invective comments about how I left out certain films from the list, most notably Ferris Bueller (I don't think it's authentic enough) and Thief (okay, I did consider that one and probably should've included it) — but when Jeff Garlin points out a glaring error, you listen.

Within the first 15 minutes of viewing the movie, I felt mortified. Garlin's correct: I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With is a big, fat, steaming bowl of Chicago. Cheese employs probably the biggest Chicago cast ensemble in the history of Chicago films. Everybody who pops up in the film is in some way linked to the iO theater and/or Second City: Scott Adsit (30 Rock), Dan Castanella (the voice of Homer Simpson), Richard Kind, Amy Sedaris, Bonnie Hunt (she directed Return to Me, which is on my list), Dave Pasquesi from iO comedy act TJ and Dave, Joey Slotnick, Tim Kazurinsky (Police Academy), Oscar-nominated writer-director Paul Mazursky, Mina Kolb (she plays Garlin's mother in the movie and on Curb), and of course Garlin himself. (The only actor not affiliated with Chicago is Sarah Silverman.) Hell, some of the producers are even from Chicago.

The entire film has a conversational quality, just like Curb. James Aaron (Garlin) strolls down the verdant streets of Chicago, talking to his friend about maybe eating lunch at famed deli Manny's. He ends up at Budacki's, a hot dog joint in the Lincoln Square neighborhood, and one of the funniest moments occurs when James puts on a pirate head and hands out free hot dogs. An impolite kid wearing a poncho stops for a snack, and the kid's dad, played by Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl, utters the line, "That's another week in the poncho." It's one of those quotable movie lines that everyone should be quoting back to Garlin, especially if he's wearing a poncho. Alas, not enough people have seen the movie.

The film's not only a love story about finding "someone to eat cheese with"; it's also steeped in what it's like to struggle as a Chicago actor — and not a New York City or L.A. actor. James's agent tells him he shouldn't be picky about his roles, but James isn't about to degrade himself for money (pirate head notwithstanding).

Cheese ends on a scene at the Music Box, a pretty great art-house movie theater and film distribution company. Thus, the film even concludes on a big bowl of Chicago.

Garlin should be venerated for keeping the spirit of his Chicago alive in this film. His other features, Dealin' with Idiots (streaming on Netflix) and This Filthy World, his documentary on John Waters, demand a look, too. Dear Mr. Garlin: Your film work won't be "a big bowl of unnoticed" anymore, at least by me.

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